Blackwater - by Jeremy Scahill (Paperback)

About the Book

An extraordinary expos by one of America's young radical journalists, this is the dark story of the rise of a powerful mercenary army, ranging from the blood-soaked streets of Fallujah to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, where Blackwater executives are hailed as heroes.

Book Synopsis

The groundbreaking bestselling expose of the shadowy mercenary army that perpetrated horrific war crimes in America's name.

On September 16, 2007, machine gun fire erupted in Baghdad's Nisour Square, leaving seventeen Iraqi civilians dead, among them women and children. The shooting spree, labeled "Baghdad's Bloody Sunday," was neither the work of Iraqi insurgents nor U.S. soldiers. The shooters were private forces, subcontractors working for the secretive mercenary company, Blackwater Worldwide, led by Erik Prince

Award-winning journalist Jeremy Scahill takes us from the bloodied streets of Iraq to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the chambers of power in Washington, to reveal the frightening new face of the U.S. military machine, and what happens when you outsource war.

"A crackling expose" -- New York Times Book Review

"[Scahill] is a one-man truth squad" -- Bill Moyers

"[An] utterly gripping and explosive story" -- Naomi Klein, The Guardian

Review Quotes

"Virginian-Pilot"
"At Blackwater USA, Jeremy Scahill's is the face they love to hate... [He is] perhaps the private military company's most dogged critic."

Bill Maher, host of HBO's "Real Time"
"[Scahill's] book is so scary and so illuminating."

"The Guardian" (London)
"Blackwater being rarely out of the news lately, this is a very useful survey of modern mercenaries - or, as they prefer to be called, 'private security contractors' in the 'peace and stability industry'...Scahill is a sharp investigative writer."

Scarlett Johansson, actor
"It should be mandatory reading. It's very interesting - and scary."

"A crackling expose of the secretive military contractor Blackwater."--"The New York Times Book Review"

"[Scahill] is a one-man truth squad."--Bill Moyers

"[An] utterly gripping and explosive story."--Naomi Klein, "The Guardian"

"The biggest book of the year...an amazingly researched and well-told story."--Matthew Rothschild, "The Progressive"

"Scahill's page-turning collection of intrigue and insight into the underworld of privatized warfare is well researched, thoroughly documented, and as a result extremely frightening."--"The Globe and Mail"

"Scahill provided me information...which I have not been able to get from the U.S. military...I have read more from Mr. Scahill, than I've got from our own government."--Representative Marcy Kaptur, Defense Appropriations Committee

"[T]his is no uninformed partisan screed...Meticulously documented and encyclopedic in scope...it's a comprehensive and authoritative guide...this book serves as a provocative primer for advancing the debate."--Bill Sizemore, Pulitzer-prize nominated journalist, "Virginian-Pilot"

"Andy McNab couldn't have invented this prescient tale of the private army of mercenaries run by a Christian conservative millionaire who, in turn, bankrolls the president. A chilling expose of the ultimate military outsource."--Christopher Fowler, "The New Review"'s "Best Books of 2007"

"Fascinating and magnificently documented...Jeremy Scahill's new book is a brilliant expose and belongs on the reading list of any conscientious citizen."--Scott Horton, International and Military Law Expert, Columbia University Law School

"From Belgrade to Baghdad, from Nigeria to New Orleans, Jeremy Scahill leads a new generation of muckraking journalists. Scahill is exposing the dark, violent and secretive world of the neo-mercenaries Washington is increasingly deploying in its wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and at home in the US. His investigative skill, coupled with his graceful style make this book essential reading." -- Amy Goodman

"Thanks to Jeremy Scahill and other reporters of conscience and courage, 'independent journalist' is not an oxymoron." -- Ray McGovern

About the Author

Jeremy Scahill is an investigative reporter, war correspondent, and author of the international bestsellers Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army and Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield. He has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, the former Yugoslavia, and elsewhere across the globe. He is a co-founder of The Intercept and has served as the National Security Correspondent for the Nation magazine and Democracy Now! Scahill is a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute and was twice awarded the prestigious George Polk Award. He is a producer and writer of the award-winning film Dirty Wars, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award.